Dinnertime Story
by KirolaiSemperFi
Summary: Keep this up, Tony, and you'll never get married."


**Disclaimer: Last time I checked, NOPE!**

_Special Agent Kate Todd peered through her binoculars as a bearded man stepped out of his parked car on the opposite side of the street. Sighing when she confirmed that he wasn't the target, she glanced over at her partner, Tony DiNozzo. The young agent was reclined back in his seat, snoozing soundly._

_"Tony?"_

_No answer._

_"Hey, DiNozzo? Tony!" Annoyed, she slammed the binoculars down into his lap._

_"What happened?" Tony's eyes shot open and he gazed around rapidly. "Is he here?"_

_Kate giggled, snuggling into her seat. "Nope. You fell asleep. I was doing you a favor by waking you up."_

_Tony shook some sleep from his eyes. "Didn't catch a wink last night. Too busy--"_

_"Don't tell me!" Kate's eyes narrowed. "I don't want to hear about it."_

_Tony only smiled. "If you're not interested in my personal life, Kate, don't wake me up next time." His arms and legs reached out, and he let out a loud moan as he called upon his stressed muscles to move. _

_"If it involves you, a female, and physical activity, Tony, then I'm not concerned."_

_"But you're curious, are you not?" He was asking for trouble....as usual. "Don't deny it because if you weren't, you wouldn't have woken me up."_

_"I woke you up because we're on a stakeout, not because I wanted to chat."_

_"Well then, I'm goin' back to sleep." Tony smothered his face into the rough padding of the leather chair, closing his eyes._

_Kate rolled her eyes. "Fine. Talk."_

_At that, Tony's eyes opened right away, and he sat up on one elbow. "I did have a date with Cassandra last night, and--"_

_"I regret it already," Kate said, shaking her head._

_"--we went out to that new restaurant in Georgetown. It was nice and all."_

_"Then you took her to your apartment and stayed up all night playing house?"_

_"No. I...told her that...things weren't serious, and I wanted to stop before something happens."_

_"Like what? A long term relationship? Marriage?"_

_Tony's eyes turned to the window. "You know what? Let's not talk about this anymore."_

_Kate sighed and turned forward in her chair. "Keep this up, Tony, and you'll never get married."_

* * *

Tony DiNozzo shuddered as the cool wind hit him square in the face. He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his blazer and let out a puff of warm air. He looked through the window of the restaurant once more, spotting her out of the eating crowd and bustling waitresses. She was seated at a center table, skimming through the menu anxiously.

Oh geez, he thought. This is it.

"You just hafta say it, Anthony," he told himself. "Just say it and be done with it. Piece of pie." He took a shaky step towards the door, but then immediately swiveled around to stop himself. "Oh geez. Oh man." A wavy hand combed through his hair, and he closed his eyes to calm his racing pulse. "Come on, Anthony! Come on!"

A woman walked by, eyeing him suspiciously. She looked like she was about to ask a serious question, but decided against it.

Tony smiled, sheepishly. "Sorry, I was just--" He didn't get to finish before the woman disappeared into the restaurant. "Right." Taking in one last deep breath, he pushed his way into the restaurant, zipping straight for his date.

"Tony, there you are!"

"Good evening, lovely lady," Tony bent down to kiss her on the cheek before sliding into the vacant seat across from her. "Sorry to keep you waiting, but I was testing my boss' patience. He almost didn't let me leave."

She smiled, giggling. "Oh? And what did you do to deserve the wrath of Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs this time?"

Tony returned the smile. "Well, let's just say that the Director will be receiving a very angry complaint from the head of Maslow's Pharmaceuticals."

Her eyebrows raised in mild shock. "Following up on another lead, were you?"

"You can say that." Tony decided to change the subject. "So...did I ever tell you the story of my great-great-great-great--"

She giggled again, taking a sip of some red wine. "No, I don't believe I've heard of any story involving your great ancestors."

"Oh, good. Because this is a wonderful story."

She set her glass down on the table. "Do tell, then."

Tony leaned back in his chair. "Okay. Well...My grandpa--"

"I thought he was a great-great-great--" She rolled her eyes after catching Tony's childish smile. "Continue."

"My Grandpa Anthony was a...very social guy, you might say."

"Oh?"

"He was charming, handsome, intelligent--"

"Sounds so familiar."

"--And he was in love." Tony's hand slid into his pants pocket, fingering the velvet box sitting there. "Her name was Angelina, and she was very gorgeous, very smart, and very...perfect in every way, or so my Grandpa always said."

"So what happened?" she asked.

"They had been dating for quite some time, and Grandpa Anthony knew soon enough that she was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with."

"And so he proposed?"

Tony shrugged. "Hang on, I'm getting there. One night, Grandpa Anthony told her to dress snappy for dinner. It was gonna be a night to remember, he said. He took her to the nicest restaurant in the city, spending the last of his money on gourmet salad, steak, pasta, and wine."

"Are you trying to tell me that you're broke, Tony?"

Tony shook his head. "They spent all of dinner talking about the most random of things, never once getting around to the topic of importance...until the very end." He smiled once more, secretly pulling out the velvet box. He leaned forward in his chair. "At the end of their dinner, Grandpa Anthony could sense that Angelina was a little upset about the occasion. In fact, he himself forgot to pop the question! I think he was nervous."

"So, what happened next?"

Tony took in a deep breath. "This." He pushed back his chair, and yelled, "Excuse me! Everyone! Excuse me!" He waited until the room became completely silent before going on. "My name is Anthony DiNozzo, and for the past seven years, I have known the most perfect woman. We started dating a year ago, like actual dating, because before that, I was too afraid that I would hurt her if we were together. But now, I know for sure that she's the one who'll hurt me. Because she has the power to break my heart in front of all of you to see. But I love her, and I'll take that chance." Slowly, he walked over beside her, kneeling down on one knee.

The whole room watched with awe as Tony DiNozzo said, "Ziva David, will you marry me?"

Awe struck, Ziva brought her hands to her mouth. Tears sprung to her eyes, and she looked down at the open velvet box in Tony's hand. "Tony?"

He gave her an innocent look as the room began to fill with encouragement from everyone around them. "Say yes, sweety!" "Say yes!" Don't leave him hanging, darlin'!"

Leaning forward, Ziva whispered, "I think I know the ending to this story."

Tony's heart jumped.

"Anthony DiNozzo..." Ziva said. "Yes! Of course I'll marry you!"


End file.
